Know your lifts and your numbers.

Ironstead comes with more than 300 exercises out of the box, each tagged by the muscle group it targets and the equipment it needs. That means you can filter down to, say, barbell back exercises, or everything that hits your shoulders, without scrolling forever.

The tags are there to help you find and organize movements, not to tell you what to do. Ironstead never picks your exercises for you. The library is a well-labeled toolbox, and which tools you reach for is always your choice or your coach guiding it.

Everything in the library is searchable, so if you know the name of a movement you can jump straight to it. And because every exercise carries the same tags, the one you pick slots neatly into your history and records next to everything else you have done.

If a movement you do is not in the library, add it. Custom exercises behave just like the built-in ones: you tag them, track them, and they show up in your history and records like anything else.

A coach can attach a how-to video to an exercise so their trainees can see the movement done right. Those videos are YouTube links added by the coach, so the demonstration lives alongside the exercise where you need it.

Once a custom exercise exists, it is a first-class part of your library. It filters by its tags, keeps its own records and charts, and can go into any template or block just like a built-in movement. Nothing about it is second-class.

1. 1
   Open the libraryGo to Exercises and choose to add a new one.
2. 2
   Name and tag itGive it a clear name and tag the muscle group and equipment so filters find it later.
3. 3
   Start using itAdd it to a workout or template. It now tracks like any built-in exercise.

Tap any exercise to open its detail view, organized into tabs. Each tab answers a different question, so you go straight to what you need.

About covers what the exercise is and any coach video. History lists every time you have trained it. Charts turns that history into a line you can actually read, so a slow climb over months becomes visible. Records shows your best results.

You do not need to visit every tab every time. Most days you might glance at Records before a heavy set, or open Charts once a month to check the trend. They are there when a question comes up, and out of the way when it does not.

Your 1RM is the heaviest weight you could lift for a single rep on an exercise. It is a handy single number for gauging strength and for planning, since many programs describe loads as a %1RM, a percentage of that max.

Ironstead knows your max in three ways. An estimated 1RM is calculated from a hard set you actually did, using a standard formula, so you get a number without ever having to test a true single. Your heaviest weight record tracks the most weight you have actually moved in a working set on that lift. A manual 1RM is one you enter yourself, for instance a max you hit before you started using the app.

All three feed your records so your planning has a number to work from. The estimate updates itself as you train heavier, which is why you rarely need to grind out an actual single just to know where you stand.

As you train, Ironstead keeps your personal records current on every lift, so a new best is recognized without you doing the bookkeeping. Over time your records become a quiet history of getting stronger.

Curious what a hard set implies about your max before you open the app? The free 1RM calculator on this site estimates a one-rep max from any weight and rep count, using the same kind of formula the app uses. It is a quick way to see the idea in action.

There is nothing to switch on. As long as you are logging your sets, your records keep themselves up to date in the background, and your estimated max moves with you as you get stronger. Progress gets recorded whether or not you go looking for it.

Common questions

Do I have to test a true 1RM?

No. Ironstead estimates your one-rep max from hard sets you already do, so you get a working number without maxing out. It also records the heaviest weight you have actually moved, and you can enter a max manually if you want to.

Can I add an exercise that is not in the library?

Yes. Create a custom exercise, tag it, and it tracks exactly like the built-in ones, showing up in your history, records and charts.

Where do the how-to videos come from?

A coach attaches them. They are YouTube links added to an exercise so trainees can see the movement demonstrated. They are not auto-generated by the app.